How about a million dollars? Here's a great story about how valuable it can be to get your promotional products in the right place at the right time: Tech giants Microsoft and Oracle have been battling one another for market share for years.

When Microsoft's public relations agency met with some of the sales reps, one of them passed on this gem: When salespeople go in to talk to customers, even if they don't get the order, they give them a coffee mug or something else with the Microsoft logo on it. So the next time an Oracle sales rep is in there, he sees the mug, realizes that he's going to have to compete, and drops his price!

Microsoft's PR firm immediately set to work on a promotion for an upcoming trade show. They distributed 2,000 mugs with the company logo, complete with "instructions" printed on the back, directing people to place the mug prominently on their desks, glance at it

when Oracle sales reps pitched their latest $5 million software package, then wait for the offer of a 20% discount when the Oracle rep spots the mug. Or, the mug said, you could just keep the mug and call Microsoft for that 20% discount right up front-a million dollar savings!

Even though no one knows whether the mug ever actually saved anyone a million dollars, the promotion was a smash hit at the trade show, and generated at least that much in free publicity when one of the mugs made its way to the podium while Oracle's CEO was giving the show's keynote address.